AUDITION star Eihi Shiina and TOKYO GORE POLICE director and special effects artist Yoshihiro Nishimura are confirmed to attend this year’s edition of the southwest's premier horror convention and film festival (April 29 – May 1). This will mark the first time that Shiina has made an appearance of this nature in the United States.

Eihi Shiina was a model (primarily for Benetton) from Fukuoka, Japan prior to her iconic performance in filmmaking legend Takashi Miike’s AUDITION (1999). Recent films include Nishimura’s TOKYO GORE POLICE (2008), Nishimura’s and Naoyuki Tomomatsu’s VAMPIRE GIRL VS FRANKENSTEIN GIRL (2009) and Nishimura’s HELLDRIVER (2010). She will next be seen in Takeshi Kitano's latest film, OUTRAGE, which comes out in the US later this year from Magnolia Pictures.

Born in Tokyo in 1967, Yoshihiro Nishimura taught himself to do special effects, and went on to found one of the busiest special effects makeup companies in Japan, Nishi-Eizo, which has practically created a genre unto itself, with work on films ranging from SUICIDE CLUB (2001), L: CHANGE THE WORLD (2008), and GOTHIC AND LOLITA PSYCHO (2010). He began making short films in high school and college, and directed his first short film, ANATOMIA EXTINCTION (1995), providing the template for TOKYO GORE POLICE (2008). Nishimura has also been closely associated with the work of Sion Sono, contributing effects and production design to SUICIDE CLUB (2001), EXTE: HAIR EXTENSIONS (2007) and many others. Nishimura then co-directed VAMPIRE GIRL VS. FRANKENSTEIN GIRL (2009) with Tomomatsu, and made MUTANT GIRLS SQUAD (2010) for Sushi Typhoon with Noboru Iguchi and Tak Sakaguchi. One of the busiest creative forces in the low-budget Japanese film industry, his main project for 2010 was the completion of the Sushi Typhoon-produced zombie action epic HELLDRIVER, which had its World Premiere last October at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain.

Both Shiina and Nishimura will be appearing at Texas Frightmare Weekend to preview the DVD/Blu-Ray release of MUTANT GIRLS SQUAD on May 24^th from TFW sponsor FUNimation as well as the Dallas-area premiere of HELLDRIVER which will screen Friday, April 29 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Irving, Texas.

Nishimura and Shiina's appearance are sponsored in part by FUNimation.

About FUNimation Entertainment FUNimation^® Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, is the leading company for home video sales of Japanese animation in the United States.  FUNimation has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands, and manages a full spectrum of rights for most of its brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution. For more information about FUNimation Entertainment and its brands, visit www.funimation.com.

Tickets for Texas Frightmare Weekend are now available online or in person at any Frontgate Tickets outlet!

(Trip to TFW cintest is now closed-March 29,2011) Rue Morgue and TFW want you and your guest to win a trip to Texas Frightmare Weekend 2011! Click the image above to enter and for contest rules and info.

Texas Frightmare Weekend, Rue Morgue and Anchor Bay Entertainment want YOU to design your own cover of Rue Morgue! Think you got the chops? Then show us what you got!

The grand prize winner will receive a 1 year subscription to Rue Morgue, 1 double Texas Frightmare 2012 V.I.P. weekend pass, a DVD pack from Anchor Bay Entertainment, and Rue Morgue and Texas Frightmare swag packs! Runner-up prizes are also up for grabs. Winning designs will appear in the magazine, both print and digital, and promoted online.

TO QUALIFY: Entries should be 8%u2033 x 10.75%u2033 in size, MUST use the Rue Morgue logo (downloadable from rue-morgue.com/contests/RMlogo.jpg) and will be judged by Rue Morgue Art Director Ghoulish Gary Pullin for:

- ORIGINALITY (fresh ideas and innovation)

- COMPOSITION (relationship of type vs. image)

- IMPACT (execution and quality of the overall design)

- PRESENTATION (must be presented clean and neatly, flat or on a small easel). Original illustrations and photographs encouraged. Designers using movie stills (e.g. Pinhead, Leatherface, etc.) must use an illustration or treat the photo.

Contest is only open to Texas Frightmare Weekend attendees, guests and vendors. Entries accepted at the Rue Morgue booth at Texas Frightmare Weekend until noon on SUNDAY, MAY 1, 2011. Winners will be announced later that day at 2 p.m.

We're excited to announce that Keir Dullea and Jill Schoelen have joined our 2011 guest list!

Keir Dullea joins the list making good on a promise to attend a future show after having to cancel the 2010 event due to work commitments. Fright fans will remember Keir from the slasher classic Black Christmas while sci-fi fans will remember him as "Dave" in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Jill Schoelen is no stranger to the horror genre having appeared in The Stepfather, Popcorn and Wes Craven's Chiller. She also appeared in Phantom of the Opera with TFW guest Robert Englund.

Rodrigo Gudiño is founder and president of the Rue Morgue horror empire, which extends beyond its monthly magazine to its own film label, popular radio show, yearly "Festival of Fear" convention and monthly movie screenings. Additionally, Rue Morgue is co-presenting Texas Frightmare Weekend in association with Anchor Bay Entertainment.

Rodrigo Gudiño is the award winning filmmaker and founder of the RUE MORGUE empire of horror themed magazine, movies, radio and special events. In 1997 Rodrigo founded RUE MORGUE MAGAZINE and served as editor for its first eight years (until 2005). Under his stewardship and ongoing role as publisher, Rue Morgue grew to become the top selling horror publication in the world. In 2006 Gudiño wrote and directed his first film, THE EYES OF EDWARD JAMES, which became an Official Selection of the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival and was awarded internationally. His second film, THE DEMONOLOGY OF DESIRE, has since become the recipient of multiple awards and a staple of the international film festival circuit.

In 2009 Rodrigo teamed up with award winning animator Vincent Marcone for THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF MISTER HOLLOW which became a nominee of the 2009 Genie Awards and garnered innumerable awards worldwide. Rodrigo then teamed up with the Metropolis Records band THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE to direct, along with guitarist Michael Hanmer, the video for the song In The Dark (from the band’s 2010 Pins And Needles album). Aside from his filmmaking credits, Rodrigo is also the programmer of the RUE MORGUE FESTIVAL OF FEAR, Canada’s largest annual horror expo and the producer of RUE MORGUE RADIO, the popular weekly all horror music show hosted by Tom “Tomb” Dragomir. Rodrigo is currently prepping his first feature film, CUT THROATS NINE, starring Mads Mikkelsen, Harvey Keitel and Roy Dupuis.

Rodrigo will host a special screening of Space TV's Spotlight on Rue Morgue, a look at the legendary Rue Morgue empire of horror featuring an inside look at the people who bring the magazine, movies, radio show and parties to life. Features interviews with publisher Rodrigo Gudiño, editor Dave Alexander, art director Gary Pullin and more, plus a rare look inside the historic funeral home that serves as the Rue Morgue headquarters.

Possessed with a true affinity for classic horror and the gore soaked, brightly colored films of the 1980s, "Ghoulish" Gary Pullin is an award winning artist and is Rue Morgue Magazine's long-time art director. Gary has been the creative force behind virtually all design aspects of Rue Morgue, including magazine covers, event posters, merchandise, and designs for their websites. Gary has worked with notable artists such as Clive Barker, Rob Zombie, Basil Gogos and Mike Mignola to name a few. Gary runs ghoulishgary.com and has been published several times and is a regular contributor for the heavy metal magazine Revolver and Royal Flush, a humorous publication devoted to art and pop culture. His art has been featured in galleries in NY, Montreal and in his home town in London, Ontario. He was recently voted "artist of the year" at the Rondo Hatton Awards, an organization that recognizes achievements of professionals and fans within the classic horror realm.

"Like a modern Frankenstein, Gary reanimates nostalgia and unleashes it to bite your ass!" - Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy).